Highlighted Year: Luis Arroyo, 1961

Pitcher, New York Yankees

Age:  34

2^nd season with Yankees

Bats – Left, Throws – Left

Height: 5’8”    Weight: 178 

Prior to 1961:

A native of Puerto Rico, Arroyo grew up in the Tallaboa section of Peñuelas and came to be nicknamed “El Zurdo de Tallaboa” (the Tallaboa Lefty) as well as “Tite”. For financial reasons he left high school in 1947 to accept a $500 bonus to pitch for Ponce of the Puerto Rican Winter League, where he would go on to have a long career. He lost both of his decisions and had a 4.19 ERA in his first winter season but improved in 1947-48 to 1-4 and a 2.46 ERA. A 1948 trip to a Florida baseball school resulted in his joining Greenville of the Class D Coastal Plain League where he posted a 9-13 record and 4.34 ERA with 170 strikeouts and 114 walks over 166 innings. Finishing the year with Greensboro of the Class C Carolina League, he compiled a 5-3 tally with a 3.04 ERA, 8 complete games, and 67 strikeouts with 39 walks over 93 innings. Back with Greensboro in 1949, Arroyo, who was nicknamed “Yo-Yo” as a play on his last name, had a fine season in which he went 21-10, including a no-hitter, with a 3.67 ERA and 228 strikeouts over 270 innings. Taken by the St. Louis Cardinals during the offseason in the minor league draft, he was assigned to the Columbus Red Birds of the Class AAA American Association in 1950. But first, he pitched as usual in Puerto Rico during the winter and posted an 11-5 tally with a 1.82 ERA. With Columbus he appeared in 33 games (8 of them starts) and had a record of 4-4 and a 4.11 ERA with 64 strikeouts and 77 walks over 116 innings. It was back to Puerto Rico in the winter, and he had a fine season with a 13-8 tally and 2.48 ERA. With Columbus and Rochester in 1951 Arroyo’s record dropped off to 3-2 in 24 appearances with a 5.63 ERA. During the winter in Puerto Rico he put together a 10-10 tally and 3.09 ERA. He missed all of 1952 and ’53 due to a sore arm that deprived him of his fastball. When he returned to action in 1954 it was with the Columbus Cardinals of the Class A South Atlantic (or Sally) League where in 27 games (14 of them starts) he was 8-6 with a 2.49 ERA before being promoted to Houston of the Class AA Texas League where his record was 8-3 with a 2.35 ERA. He threw a no-hitter against Dallas and was now featuring a screwball, which would become his best pitch. In 1955 he made it on to the Cardinals pitching staff and got off to a fast 10-3 start that led to his being selected as an All-Star. A second-half slump left his season record at 11-8 with a 4.19 ERA, 9 complete games, and 68 strikeouts over 159 innings. Ineffective in 1956 spring training, Arroyo was sent down to Omaha of the Class AAA American Association from where he was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in May. Splitting time between the Hollywood Stars of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League where he produced a 7-5 mark and 2.82 ERA and the Pirates, who were in need of lefthanded pitchers, he was 3-3 in 18 appearances with a 4.71 ERA. Arroyo spent all of 1957 with the Pirates and appeared in 54 games (10 starts) and compiled a 3-11 record and 4.68 ERA with 101 strikeouts over 130.2 innings. In 1958 Arroyo was back in Class AAA with the Columbus Jets of the International League where he made 61 appearances, almost exclusively in relief, and posted a 10-3 record and 4.01 ERA with 102 strikeouts over 110 innings. In the offseason he was dealt to the Cincinnati Reds and spent most of 1959 with the Havana Sugar Kings of the International League where he pitched in 41 games and had an 8-9 tally with a 1.15 ERA and 94 strikeouts over 117 innings. In a brief July stint with the Reds he made 10 appearances and was 1-0 with a 3.95 ERA. After a successful winter season in Puerto Rico, Arroyo started 1960 with Jersey City (the relocated Havana club in the International League) until he was purchased by the Yankees in July. He performed well out of the bullpen during the remainder of the season, appearing in 29 games and producing a 5-1 record with 7 saves, a 2.88 ERA, and 29 strikeouts over 40.2 innings. He also got his first taste of postseason action in the World Series against Pittsburgh, facing four batters and giving up one run in his lone appearance.    

1961 Season Summary

Appeared in 65 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Pitching

Games – 65 [1]

Games Started – 0

Games Finished – 54 [1]

Complete Games – 0

Wins – 15 [6, tied with five others]

Losses – 5

PCT - .750 [3]

Saves – 29 [1]

Shutouts – 0

Innings Pitched – 119

Hits – 83

Runs – 34

Earned Runs – 29

Home Runs – 5

Bases on Balls – 49

Strikeouts – 87

ERA – 2.19 [Non-qualifying]

Hit Batters – 3

Balks – 0

Wild Pitches – 4

League-leading games pitched were +6 ahead of runners-up Turk Lown & Tom Morgan

League-leading games finished were +11 ahead of runners-up Frank Funk & Hoyt Wilhelm

League-leading saves were +11 ahead of runner-up Hoyt Wilhelm

Midseason Snapshot: 3-3, ERA - 2.01, G – 33, SV – 18, SO - 39 in 53.2 IP

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Most strikeouts, game – 6 (in 3 IP) vs. Boston 7/8, (in 6.2 IP) vs. Baltimore 7/30, (in 4.2 IP) at Detroit 9/17

10+ strikeout games – 0

Batting

PA – 28, AB – 25, R – 2, H – 7, 2B – 2, 3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 0, BB – 0, SO – 4, SB – 0, CS – 0, AVG - .280, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 3, SF – 0

Fielding

Chances – 18

Put Outs – 2

Assists – 15

Errors – 1

DP – 0

Pct. - .944

Postseason Pitching: G – 2 (World Series vs. Cincinnati)

GS – 0, GF – 2, CG – 0, Record – 1-0, PCT – 1.000, SV – 0, ShO – 0, IP – 4, H – 4, R – 2, ER – 1, HR – 0, BB – 2, SO – 3, ERA – 2.25, HB – 0, BLK – 0, WP – 0 

Awards & Honors:

All-Star

6^th in AL MVP voting (95 points – 1 first place vote, 34% share)

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The Yankees went 109-53 to win the AL pennant by 8 games over the Detroit Tigers. The pitching staff led the league in saves (39). The Yankees surged to the pennant in a season dominated by the home run race between outfielders Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle. They won the World Series over the Cincinnati Reds, 4 games to 1.

Aftermath of 1961:

The Yankees paid Arroyo $10,000 to not play winter ball following the 1961 season and, prone to be chunky, he put on weight in the offseason. An elbow injury limited him to 27 appearances and a 1-3 tally with a 4.81 ERA and 7 saves. He saw no action in the World Series against the Giants. Convincing the Yankees that it would be to his benefit, he pitched in Puerto Rico during the winter and was effective. Appearing in only six games for the Yankees in 1963, Arroyo was sent down to Richmond of the Class AAA International League in June and went on to pitch in 35 games. In September he announced his retirement and was hired as a scout by the Yankees. For his major league career, he appeared in 244 games and produced a 40-32 record with a 3.93 ERA, 45 saves, and 336 strikeouts over 531.1 innings. With the Yankees he made 127 appearances for a 22-10 tally and 3.12 ERA with 43 saves and 142 strikeouts over 199.1 innings. In addition, he won 110 games over 19 seasons in the Puerto Rican Winter League. Appearing in three World Series games, Arroyo went 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA and 4 strikeouts in 4.2 innings pitched. Arroyo was a two-time All-Star. Following his playing career, Arroyo managed in Puerto Rico in addition to his scouting duties. He died in 2016 at the age of 88. He would long be remembered as the star bullpen closer for the 1961 champion Yankees.

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Highlighted Years feature players who led a major league in one of the following categories: batting average, home runs (with a minimum of 10), runs batted in, or stolen bases (with a minimum of 20); or pitchers who led a major league in wins, strikeouts, earned run average, or saves (with a minimum of 10). Also included are participants in annual All-Star Games between the National and American Leagues since 1933. This category also includes Misc. players who received award votes, were contributors to teams that reached the postseason, or had notable seasons in non-award years.